Elizabethtown  The finish line may be in sight for the sale of the Horace Nye Nursing Home to Centers for Specialty Care.

The New York State Department of Health’s Planning Committee voted Sept. 12 to approve the Certificate of Need transfer from the county to the New York-based company, moving the process on to the full Planning Council.

The council will meet on Thursday, Oct. 3, to make the final determination.

“What generally happens is they approve what is accepted by the committee and then we should receive a letter within two or three weeks,” said County Attorney Dan Manning, who attended the committee meeting last week.

“They approved the transfer of the certificate in committee and the full planning council will meet on Oct. 3,” he added. “We should have the final approval for the sale by the end of October.”

With approval, the state committee added stipulations to the certificate relating to some Medicaid directives and Centers for Specialty Care providing proof relative to their ability to finance the sale.

Those were added to stipulations already placed in the contract by Essex County, which include allowing the current employees to remain on staff if they desire, ensuring those who are already residents of the home may continue to live there and giving top priority in admittance to Essex County residents.

Once official word of the transfer is received by both sides, Manning said that the ball will start rolling quickly toward a Dec. 31 finish line.

“We are hoping to close on the whole deal by the end of December, and we’re hopeful that it will be fully transferred over by Jan. 1,” Manning said. “We do not see where there will be any problems.”

County Manager Dan Palmer, who also attended the Sept. 12 meeting, said a transition plan is starting to take better shape.

“We were able to speak to the owners in New York City,” Palmer said. “They are scheduled to come up in the first part of December to conduct meeting with the department heads and then later to come back and conduct meetings with the employees.”

“There will be several steps to take, including us as a county meeting with the employees and they will also hold meetings,” Manning said.